Spotlight: Shaun Whynacht of Blue Cow Marketing Inc.

This entrepreneur talks about the wave of change directly related to marketing trends and technology.

Tell us about yourself and your role within your company.

My role in the company has been as founder and president. I’ve been involved in entrepreneurship since the age of 15 and started my first business at 17. Since then I’ve worked to help other small businesses market themselves more effectively with website design, video production, social media & marketing automation.

I have clients across Canada and in the US as well and have been able to do this all while working from home to have that valuable work/life harmony that we all dream about when starting our own business.

My personal goal in doing what I do is that my son will grow up and see his father as someone who helps others achieve their goals just as much as he helped him achieve his.

What is the most rewarding part about being an entrepreneur? What keeps you passionate and driven to succeed?

The most rewarding part of being an entrepreneur in my industry is that I get to see the wave of change coming with marketing trends and technology and then prepare my prospects and clients for these impacts to their business.

When you get to pass on your experience to others and have that make a positive impact in their life, it’s the best feeling in the world.

"Helping others who rely on your experience and suggestions is a major motivator."

When I wake up each morning I know that it’s going to be a different day than any other day I’ve had.

It also helps that I love and embrace change, so being an ever changing industry is the perfect fit for my persona.

The digital landscape is changing rapidly, with more and more Canadians using digital marketing tools to drive more leads and increase sales. For you, what are some key concepts or strategies that you suggest for small business owners?

The digital landscape is changing rapidly, but the one thing we need to remember as a small business owner is that we are still communicating with other human beings. So while we have more and more tools to do that, we can’t get caught up in all the flashy technology.

Break it down to basics. Educate your prospect of a potential problem them may have. Show them how your solution fixes that problem. Invite them into a discussion around having you solve that problem.

Each of these steps can be enhanced with different tools, but ultimately this is what we need to do. Education is the new selling. When you try to sell before educating, you are wasting your time.

What advice do you have for aspiring and prospering business owners when it comes to taking their business to the next level?

Focus on the customer experience. Whether you sell a product or a service, people remember the experience they have had before, during and after that transaction more so than the product or service they bought. So walk yourself through the whole journey from hearing about your business, inquiring to actually purchasing and come up with the most awesome enhancements you can to each step (if there were not limits). Once you have that, then look at what options are available to making that enhancement a reality.

It’s your business, so make it as unique and personable as you are….oh and remember to always have fun!